Charging mechanism.



T. W. ATTERBURY & P. W. MATTHEWS.

CHARGING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1915.

4 SHEET S SHEET l.

. Patented Sept, 18, 1917.

drfomvsy 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mawwsu ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 18

T. W. ATTERBURY & P. W. MATTHEWS.

CHARGING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10. 1915.

1,240,295. Patented Sept. 18,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESS l/Vl/E/VTOBS 1 Idd4w4.. 4 2% MW ATTORNEY- T. W. ATTERBURY (KI P. W. MATTHEWS.

CHARGING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10. I9I5.

Patented Sept. 18,1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

E U EHI U D E U IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ATTORNEY UNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTQE.

THOMAS W. ATTERBURY, OF DANSVILLE, NEW YORK, AND PERCY W. FEATTI-IEWS, OF

SCOTTDALE, PENNSYLVANIA, AS-SIGNOBS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF FIVE-TIVELFTHS TO SAID PERCY W. MATTHEVJ S, OF DORMONT, PENNSYLVANIA, FIVE-TWELFTHS T0 FREDERICK Ell/[MET BEIDALE, OF MOUNT PLEASANT, PENNSYL- VANIA, ANDTWO-TWELFTI-FS TO JOSEPH FRANKLIN BBANDENBURG, OF MAI-IVFAI-I,

NEW JERSEY.

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS W. ATTER- BURY and PERCY W. MATTHEWS, subjects of the King of Great Britain, and residents, respectively, of Dansville, in the county of Livingston and State of New York, and Scottdale, in the county of Westmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Charging Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

. The invention relates to charging mechanism and more particularly to mechanism for charging progressive or traveling grates. The chief objects are to enable a chamber to be charged substantially without admission of air to the chamber or escape of gases therefrom, and to provide simple and conveniently controlled power means for operating the mechanism. The apparatus comprises front and rear parts between which the material to form the charge is placed outside of the chamber, themembers being movable rearwardly or inwardly of the chamber to introduce the charge therein, and forwardly or outwardly to receive a fresh charge, when the preceding charge has been removed from between them as by the progression of the grate. Each of the said parts is adapted to close the entrance to the chamher, and the construction is such that, while the rearward movements of the members may be executed simultaneously, their for ward movements are successive; that is to say, the rear member moves first in the out ward direction and reaches or practically reaches a position where it closes the entrance before the front member is moved away from the same. The members are preferably operated by concentric fluid pressure rams, which latter may be controlled, as to movement in both directions, by a single control device.

These and other'features of the invention will become apparent as the specification proceeds and will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation showing the charging gear as a whole in its relation to a chamber to be charged;

car ine-rive MncHAnIsi/r.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 18, 1917.

' ()riginal application filed July 5, 1912, Serial No. 707,697. Divided and this application filed November 10,

Serial No. 60,762.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1, showing the parts in changed positions;

Fig. 3 1s a detall sectional elevation of the controlling valve;

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section through'the concentric rams for operating the front and rear parts of the charging mechanism Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the said parts;

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section through the charging receptacle on the line 66 of Fig. 7

Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section on an enlarged scale through the chamber to be charged and the charging members, the charging receptacle outside the chamber being shown in section and broken away and other parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section through Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a detail side elevation showing an automatic tripping device which may be utilized in connection with the charging mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a sectional plan on the line 1010 of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 sh0wing the parts in changed positions.

A chamber to be charged is designated a and its entrance 22. The particular chamber and entrance illustrated are the same as those shown in our prior application, filed July 5, 1912, Serial Number 707,697, of which the present case is a division, but it is to be understood that the specific form of these parts is not essential to the present invention and may accordingly be modified. In our said prior application the chamber is formed by the compartments of a rotary grate, a portion of which is indicated at 1A in Fig. 8, when brought successively into position opposite a wall 19, which may be provided with openings 28 and 29, enabling the charges to be subjected to a blast or cur' rent of heated gases. For a fuller understanding of these features, which form no part of the present invention, reference may be had to the parent case.

The front and rear parts 23 and 24 of the charging mechanism constitute both end reentrance.

ceptaclepreferably has thesame cross-section as. the chamber to be charged, and the members 23 and 2 1 also conform to this shape, being sufficiently smaller than the in teriorsto slidefreely therein. The charge end retainers 23 and 24, together with the receptacle 25, consequently constitute a charge-forming mechanism, whereby preformed chargesmay be introduced into the chamber a.

The positions which the members 23 and 2 1 assume when moved rearwardly-to carry the charge into the chamber are shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the charge itself beingindr catedin Fig. 8. In this position the member 24: occupies a pocket 91 at the rear end of the chamber, while the member 23' is disposed in the entrance 22, closing the same.

The closing of the entrance by the end members is made substantially tight by beveled sealing surfaces 9-1 and 95 formed there- ,on to cooperate with a double beveled stop shoulder-96 adjacent the outer end of the It will be understood that the seals or closures need not be in one part with the charge end retainers, and. in fact thesealing-shoulder 94 isshown formed on a piece 23 separate from the member 23 and 'SL1-1t ably united therewith by bolts 23.

During the rearward movement of the charging members the entrance is substan .tially closed by the charge passing therethrough. 'On the forward movement, howvever, if two members traveled simultaneously the entrance would. be left open for a period, and, in order to avoid this, means for operating the members is provided whereby they may be moved forward in succession, the rear member moving firstas indicated in Fig. 1 and being brought into substantially closing relation to the entrance before the outward movement of the front end member .23 has begun. 1'1 preferred embodiment of power mechanism adapted to move the charging members rearward simultaneously and forward in succession will now be described. The front end memberv 23 is operated by a fluidpressure cylinder '97 and a piston and ram 98. The rear'e-nd of the latter'is secured to the end of a slotted trunk 99, the rear end of which is fixed to the piece23 bolted to the member 23. The

ram 98 constitutes a fluid pressure cylinder for operatlngthe rear end member24,containing a PIStOTtlOUfiXeCl to a'hollow ram 101, which in turn is fixed to a cross-head 102, operating in the slots of the trunk 99 andsecured-to rods 92 which carry the member 24. 7

The ramsare controlled by a piston valve 103,-slidable-in'a casing 104; and operated by a hand lever-105. A fluidpressure pipe l06 -commun'icates with the said cylinder 10 1 and-with constant-pressure pipes 107 and 108 leading, respectively, to the rear ends of the'cylin'ders 97 and 98. The pipe108- passes through the. two-pistons, which areslidable relatively to it, and communicates with the rear end of the cylinder 98 by way of an opening 109 in the hollow ramrod 101. Treesurepipesl10-and 111 lead from the valve cylinder lOto the front ends of the cylinders 97 and 98, respectively, the pipe 111 ;passing witha sliding j oint through the piston' in the cylinder 97.

,vV-hen the operating. leVer -105'is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the pressurepipe 11-0 is connected with the-supply sothat thepis- \ton in cylinder 97 is, held in its rear-mostposition by the fluid pressureiin the cylinder, .thus holding. the charging member 23 in. position closing the entrance 22 of the. charging chamber, as shown in the said figure. The front end of the cylinder 98, however, is connected with: the exhaust 112 so that the pressure against-L the rear side of the piston .100 movesthe latter forward,-thus causing the rearend charging member 24 to travel forward through the empty grate --sect.ion, aSlS-ShOWII, in Fig. 1. ,When-the valveis in :inter-mediateposition, as shown in Fig. 2, the front: end of the cylinder .97 is also coir nected with the exhaust, and the. pressure. on rthe rearside, of the piston securedto-the .ramrod 98moves the latter forward, thus advancingthe front end member23 away fromthe entrance 22 tothe forward part ofthe charging receptacle 25. he resu-lt is that both the members 28 and 24 are brought into their extreme forward post .tions, ready to have material placed between them to constitute a charge for insertion into the chamber a. lVith the valve in the position shown in Fig. 3, both of the ram cylinders 97 and 98 are cut off fromthe exhaust-and are'in communication with the fluidpressure pipe 106, so that the fluid pressure. admitted to the forward ends of both cylinders overcomes the lesser pressure against the. rear sides oftheir pistons, there- 'byjdriving both pistons rearward and causing the charging members 23 and 24: to move simultaneously to carry: the new charge into,

the chamber.

Means are ,provided for automatically yieldingly held out of tripping position by a weight 115 secured to a lever 116, which is connected to the lever 114 by a link 117. The lever 114 carries a roller 118, which is arranged to contact with an incline 119 on a cam plate 120 carried by a fixed bracket 121. As the rear end member 24 moves forward the roller 118 rides up on this incline and along the straight surface 122 which holds the lever in tripping position, as shown in Fig. 11, the weighted lever 116 being tilted against the force of gravity. In this position the tripping arm of the lever 114 contacts with the end of a trip-rod 123, which is connected by a link with a two-armed motion lever 124, which is connected by another link with the valve 103. The cam plate 120 is so positioned and proportioned that the rod 123 is pushed forward by the lever 114 only sufficiently to move the valve in the intermediate position of Fig. 2. When the parts have reached this position the roller 118 rolls off the straight surface;l22,thus

permitting the weight 115 to drawithe tripping arm of the lever backward and sidewise, so that the lever may advance with the further movement of themember 24 without further operation of the rod 123. It will be obvious that any suitable expedient may be employed for preventing the valve mechanism being thrown by momentum past the desired intermediate position.

On the return stroke the roller 118 rides up the incline 125 on the other side of the plate 120, thereby displacing the weighted lever 116 to the other side of center. The tripping member is thus caused to move around one side of the cam plate in advancing and around the other side in retreating. .The displacement of the tripping lever 114 on the return stroke, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 11, is due to the fact that the point of the incline 119 must extend sufficiently to the side of the normal path of travel of the roller 118 to insure that the latter will ride up on the incline 119 and not pass at the back of the plate on the forward stroke.

In operating the charging mechanism, therefore, the hand lever 105 is shifted manually from its extreme rearward position, corresponding to the condition of the valve 103 shown in Fig. 3 and the rearward position of the charging members 23 and .24 shown in Fig. 2, to the extreme forward position shown in Fig. 1. As already explained this causes the rear endmember 24 to advance, the front end 23 remaining stationary until the member 24 reaches it. The tripping lever 114 now automatically moves the linkage and the valve to the intermediate position of Fig. 2, when as already explained the front end 23 is set in motion, and the members 23 and 24 advance substantially in contact until the sealing surface 95 on the rear end member 24 contacts with the rib 96, against which it is tightly held by the fluid pressure, the member 24 then being held in the position shown in Fig. 2, sealing the entrance to thecharging chamber, while the front end member 23 continues its forward movement. The interval elapsingbetween the opening of the outer seal by the forward movement of the member 23 and the closing of the inner seal by the seating of the member 24 is slight, and during this period the entrance 22 is to all intents and purposes closed by the members 23 and 24, so that there is practically no opportunity for gases to escape or air to enter. The parts are now in the position shown in 2, and a new batch of material is inserted between. the members 23 and 24, either by being raked in or by mechanical or automatic means. This having been accomplished the controlling lever 105 is thrown to its extreme rearward position, moving the valve 103 to the position shown in Fig. 3 and causing both charging members or container ends 23, 24 to move rearward from the re ceptacle 25 to carry the new charge into the waiting grate section. During this movement the charge itself and the excess mate rial in the container 25 effectually close the entrance 22 to the charging chamber, until such time as the sealing surface 94 of the front end member 23 contacts with the sealing rib 96, thereby closing the entrance throughout the drying operation and until. the next forward movement.

The receptacle 25 may be disposed below a charging floor or a hopper bottom, having an opening 126. adapted to be closed by a cover slide 127 carried by or movable with the front end member 23, so that the opening is uncovered when the members 23, 24 are in charge-receiving position. What we claim as new is:

1. In a furnace, a charging chamber with a charging entrance and charging mechanism movable through the entrance and comprising front and rear end parts for re ceiving and conveying the charge between them, said parts being provided with outer and inner seals for said entrance, and means for moving said parts outward in succession and inward in unison.

2. In a furnace, a charging chamber open at one end and closed at the other, movable front and rear end members for said chamber affording outer and innerclosures for said open end, and means for moving the rear end member to close said open end before moving the. front end member away. from it.

3. In a furnace, the combination of a chamber, a charging receptacle outside said chamber having an open top, independently movable front and rear members movable from said receptacle rearward to introduce a charge carried between them into said tors to drive said members rearward 1n unison and for independentlystarting the .motor of the rear member to drive sard mem- .chamber and forward again to receive a fresh charge, and a cover for said receptaole movable with said front member.

:4. The combination of a chamber-having an entrance, front and'rear members for introducing a charge through said entrance into said chamber and for closing said entrance, and means for moving said members forward to receive a fresh charge comprising means for moving the rear member toward the entrance independently of .the front member and means for automatically movtroducin-g a charge through said entrance into said chamber and for closing said entrance, motors for operating said members, controlling means for starting both mober forward, and means for automatically starting the other motor to drive the front member forward at apredetermined-point in the movement of the rear member.

7 The combinationwith a chamber to be charged, of front and rear members between which the charge is received and transported into said chamber,=power means for operating said members, controlling'means for causing said power means to drive said rear member through said chamber toward the front member which remains stationary, a tripping member operated with said rear -member, a stationary cam contacted by said tripping member to set the same, and means,

including a part contacted by said tripping member, for causing said power means to drive the front member forward.

8. The combination with a chamber having an entrance, o-f'front and rear charging and entrance-closing members, fluid oper: ,ated rams'for operating said members, valve controlling mechanism for causing the rams to operate together in one direction and one ram to operate in the reverse direction, and

automatic valve-controlling means for causmg the other ram to operate 1n the reverse direction afteran interval.

:9. The combinationwith a chamber to be charged, of independently movable chargeforming mechanism comprising a receptacle for the material to 'formwthe charge and charge end-retainers conforming to the internal shapeof the receptacle andadapted .toreceive the'material between them said charge end retainers being. movable to carry .the formed Charge'from the receptacle into the chamber.

'10. The combination with .a chamber 'to ibecharged, of successively movable chargeforming mechanism comprising a receptacle for .the material to form the charge andcharge end retainers conforming to the in ternal-shape of the receptacle and adapted to receive the anaterial between them, said charge end retainers beingmovable to carry the formed charge :from thereceptacle into the chamber, and a cover for the receptacle operatively connected with one of the charge end retainers.

11. The combinationw-ith achamber to be charged, of charge-formingmechanism comprising a receptaclefor the material to form the charge and successively movable charge 'end'retainers conforming to the internal shape of the receptacle and adapted to receive-the materialbe-tween them, power means for moving said charge end retainers rearward to introduce the formedcharge into the chamber and'forward again to receive a fresh charge, and a eover'for the receptacle also operated by the said means.

'12. The combination with a chamber having an entrance, of charging mechanism comprising relatively reciprocable'front and rearparts adapted to close said entrance alternately and in their forward positionsto receive a charge between them, which on the rearward movement is carried through the entrance into the chamber.

13. The combination with a chamber having an entrance, of charging mechanism comprising independently movable front and rear parts adapted to receive a charge between them, meansfor moving said parts rearward tointroduce the charge through the said entrance into the chamber and for-- ward again to receive a fresh charge, and seals operated by said parts for closing said entrance.

14. The combination with a chamber having an entrance, of front andrear reciprocable parts adapted to receive successive charges between them which the front part pushes inward through the entrance, and means whereby said parts may be moved outwardlyin succession in order that the rear part may close the entrance at or about the time when the front part is moved away.

15. Charging apparatus comprising front and rear parts adapted to receive a charge between them, and concentric fiuid actuated ram mechanisms for operating said parts.

16. Charging apparatus comprising front andrearpartspadapte'd'to receive a charge between them, concentric fluid actuated ram mechanisms for operating said parts, and a single control devlce for said ram mechanism.

17. In charging apparatus, the combination of front and rear parts adapted to receive a charge between them, concentric fluid actuated rams for operating said parts, and a common control device embodying means for causing said rams to operate rearward at the same time and forward at different times.

18. In charging apparatus, the combination of reciprocable front and rear parts adapted to receive a charge between them, fluid actuated rams for operating said parts, controlling means whereby the rear part starts on its outward movement ahead of the front part, and a trip whereby the front part is started forward at a predetermined point in the forward movement of the rear part.

19. Charging apparatus for conveyer chambers, comprlsmg relatlvely movable end members and means for causing the same to travel into the chamber with the charge between them and to operate successively in the reverse direction to keep the entrance to the chambers substantially closed.

20. The combination with a conveyer having a series of compartments and an inclosure having an entrance, of mechanism for charging the compartments comprising relatively movable end members and means for causing the same to travel inward of the entrance with a charge between them to position at opposite sides of and clearing the conveyer and to operate successively in the reverse direction after an advance movement of the conveyer so as to keep the entrance substantially closed.

21. The combination of a conveyer having a series of compartments, an inclosure having an entrance, and charging mechanism comprising charge end members which are movable successively in the outward direction and constructed to act as closures for the entrance.

THOMAS W. ATTERBURY. PERCY W. MATTHEWS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

